Apple/chicken panini without a machine!

Okay, this is probably more of a technique post than an actual recipe post because you can do whatever in the sammies. I love pressed sandwiches, but don’t want to shell out the $$ for a press or give up any counter space for said machine. So what is a girl to do? Improvise!

The key to a pressed sandwich filling is to have something that will glue the halves together. I chose to use the following fillings in my sammie:

Cooked chicken

Thinly sliced granny smith apple (used a mandolin)

A laughing cow wedge

Honey mustard (mixed myself – about 1 tsp)

You will also need 2 frying pans. One for the bottom cooking, which can be whatever. The other pan needs to be heavy or you could alternatively put a weight on it. A cast iron skillet is ideal for this.

While you are assembling the sandwich, put the heavy pan on high heat as you want it very hot:

This is my baby cast iron skillet, since I was just making one sandwich.

You want to heat up the other pan on medium or medium-high heat.

Spread the laughing cow cheese on the whole slice, then layer apples on one side and chicken on the other:

I put the honey mustard in between these layers for the “ooze factor.” Close the sandwich up and press lightly together.

Spray the cooking skillet with non stick spray and drop the sandwich on:

Spray the top of this sandwich with cooking spray and then put the very hot 2nd skillet on top. It will sizzle. Please note that if you use cast iron, the handle will be hot – so use a hot mitt.

Side note – you can see the peanuts I was munching on last night in the background LOL! 😳

You can either press down on the handle or put a heat proof weight on this pan if you don’t have one heavy enough. (I pressed on this because you can see it was a little lopsided). The idea is to meld everything together and heat through. This is why you don’t want the first pan to be too hot or the bottom half will burn. Cook for several minutes. It might depend a bit on what you have in the sandwich and how cold the ingredients are.

If you lubed up the sandwich enough on top, the pan shouldn’t stick to it. Plate up and enjoy!

The sandwich gets nice and crusty on top.

The key to the panini is “less is more.” Thinner sandwiches are better so all ingredients get hot.

Alton Brown does a grilled cheese sandwich this way using shredded cheese.

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14 thoughts on “Apple/chicken panini without a machine!”

That looked real good. The turkey cranberry sounds good too. Might do that with Thanksgiving leftovers. Wonder if I could do it with my gf flaxbread? Will have to experiment. I LOVE sandwiches! Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com
.-= Vee´s last blog ..Hmmmm Eggplant =-.

Mmmm that looks good! I’ve used a wrapped brick as a press before. Lol. Gotta make do with whatcha got. Okay, I giggled when I read the sammies were lubed. Bad me!
.-= Amanda @ bakingwithoutabox´s last blog ..They did the Monster Marsh =-.

LOVE the cast iron pannini idea. I’d put pear, brie cheese and fig jam in mine.
PS: love the gorillapod from your post a few days ago. I just got one for my birthday, and I’m loving it.
.-= Roz´s last blog ..Slothing around on a Monday =-.

Great idea – I love the thought of apple in the sandwich, but my favorite would be the turkey/LC/cranberry sauce combo. YUM – I am wanting Thanksgiving to hurry up and get here!
.-= Shelley B´s last blog ..Changing a Dieters Mindset =-.

I love this technique! I am going to share this as a creative way to re-invent a classic lunch staple, the sandwich. I am also a big, big fan of turkey with apple. A local bakery near me makes a heated sandwich with a baguette, turkey, granny smith apple, and a house made mayo with greens that is just amazing. For a healthier version, I will try the laughing cow cheese idea with whole wheat bread at home. I can’t wait to try it!

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Who is Lori?

I'm a 49-year-old who undertook a journey to lose 100 pounds by changing my lifestyle. Follow along as I work on maintenance and share my fitness goals, house renovations and life in general!